Default CalDAV calendar for family events

[lemicromegas]

Hi,

Would it be possible to add a setting that allows users to define a default CalDAV calendar when creating a new event from the family calendar?

For example, all events created from the family calendar could automatically be saved to a selected shared CalDAV calendar, instead of requiring the user to choose it manually each time.

Thank you for considering this idea.

[chjud]

support that, but not exclusively caldav, also option to set any calendar (e.g. google calendar) as default.

[Kyrodan]

I also support this.

[ulsklyc]

This is the most supported open request in the tracker right now, and it is going to happen. Two things I want to settle first, because they change what gets built.

Not CalDAV only. @chjud is right, and the request is better for it. Yuvomi already treats Google calendars, CalDAV calendars and ICS subscriptions through one sync-target picker in the event dialog, so a default that only covered CalDAV would be an odd exception. The setting will point at whatever that picker can point at.

Per person or per household? This is the open question, and I lean towards per person.

The precedent points that way. The two settings closest to this one, the default reminders on a new event and whether a new event assigns itself to you, are both stored per user. Only the default event duration is household-wide. In a family where one parent keeps a work calendar and the other does not, a single shared default would be wrong for somebody by construction.

The cost is that "all events created from the family calendar go to one shared calendar", which is how you phrased it, then needs every member to set it once rather than an admin setting it for everyone. If that is not what you meant, say so, because it is easy to build it as a household default that a member may override, and harder to change afterwards.

The related request. #573 asked for something adjacent: pick the target automatically from whoever the event is assigned to, so an event for A lands in A's calendar. That was closed and folded into this discussion. It is a natural second step once a default exists, but it is not the first step, and it only makes sense if the default is per person.

Worth noting that the opposite direction already exists: each synced calendar can carry a default person, so events imported from it get assigned to them. This request completes the pair, going the other way.

[ulsklyc]

Shipped in v1.79.0.

Where it lives. Settings → Personal → Event defaults, the field called "Default calendar". It sits next to the default reminders and the assign-to-me switch, because it is the same kind of setting: a preset for the events you create.

Not CalDAV only. @chjud, your point carried. The setting offers every connected Google and CalDAV calendar through the same picker the event dialog uses, so nothing about it is CalDAV-specific. Read-only ICS subscriptions are not offered, since they cannot accept an event in the first place.

Per person, as proposed. Each household member picks their own default; there is no admin-set household-wide one. In a family where one parent keeps a work calendar and another does not, a single shared default would be wrong for somebody by construction, and the two settings closest to this one are stored per user for the same reason. The practical consequence for your original phrasing, @lemicromegas: "all events created from the family calendar go to one shared calendar" now means every member sets it once, rather than one person setting it for everyone. If that turns out to be the wrong trade in daily use, say so and I will look at a household default that a member may override.

A few details worth knowing:

• The target picker in the event dialog still has the last word, so a single event can go anywhere.
• Editing an existing event never rewrites its target.
• If the calendar you picked is later removed, disabled or turned read-only, new events quietly fall back to "Store locally only" rather than pointing at a calendar that cannot accept them. The setting stays visible in that case, so a stale target can always be cleared.
• The field is hidden while no Google or CalDAV calendar is connected at all, because then the only option would be "Store locally only".

Not included: the second step from #573, picking the target automatically from whoever the event is assigned to. The per-person default was the prerequisite for it, but it is a separate piece of work and did not ship here. If you want it, open it as its own idea so it gets tracked on its own rather than inside a closed thread.

Thanks @chjud and @Kyrodan for weighing in, and @lemicromegas for the request. Closing this as done.